Psalm 27
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- Written by: George Hemmings
A Psalm of Yearning audio (5MB)
There’s an old story of a young man who grew up on the wrong side of town. He was bright and full of good intentions, but down on his luck. Until one day, through a series of events he came into possession of a magic lamp that could grant his wishes. If you believe the Disney version, he was only allowed three wishes. And he couldn’t wish for more wishes, couldn't wish for someone to die, and couldn’t wish for someone to fall in love with him. I wonder if you had Aladdin’s lamp, what would you wish for?
What are your deepest desires? Would you wish for fame, fortune, happiness? Maybe a good job, a happy family, and long life? A packet of Tim-Tams that never runs out? What would you wish for?
Psalm 73
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
A Psalm of Lament audio (5MB)
Today we start a short series on the Psalms – culminating in our evening worship service with Sons of Korah on May 26th. Over the next 3 weeks we’ll be looking at 4 different types of psalm – today a psalm of lament, next week a psalm of yearning, then a psalm of hope and on that Sunday evening a psalm of praise.
Before we begin it’s important to understand that psalms are first and foremost poetry. Poetry is a great medium for expressing feelings. The words that are used are not always exact, nor are they meant to be heard literally. Rather they’re meant to evoke a response of the heart. They often appeal to the emotions rather than the intellect. That makes them particularly helpful for people who are struggling with life, who perhaps don’t have the energy to think things through rationally or who are too unsettled to think calmly. These people can join with the psalmist in pouring their heart out to the Lord. Psalms are also good when you’re so full of joy that you can’t put it into words. That’s when the psalmist calls on the mountains and trees to sing their praises along with his own.
Well, today we’re looking at Psalm 73, a lament.
The psalm begins with a familiar refrain: “God is good to those who love him.” That’s one of the foundations of our understanding of God, isn’t it? God is good. God loves us. God has chosen us. He’ll never forsake us. He’ll look after us. What’s more he’ll bless those who remain faithful to him with every good gift. And so the psalmist believes.
Isaiah 9:2-7 - Christmas Eve
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- Written by: George Hemmings
Light in the Darkness audio (4MB)
Text by George yet to come
Nehemiah 8
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- Written by: George Hemmings
The Leader & Renewal audio (5MB)
I have great news this morning. Wonderful news. The building project’s over! The work’s finished! It seemed impossible, but it’s happened. The builders have been hard at it, working night and day. Despite all those naysayers, despite all the doubt and objections, the last stone has been laid, the cleanup’s done, the job’s finished! If only this were true of our building at Station St! That would be a real miracle, if it were finished this quickly. We still have a while to wait, but this is the message that came to Nehemiah. After just 52 days, the wall around Jerusalem is finished. It was, as we’ve heard a monumental task, plagued with some stiff opposition and no shortage of challenges. But the people have worked hard, and with God’s blessing, it’s all over! You can imagine their sense of excitement and pride. So just as when we finish our building I’m sure we’ll have a big celebration, it’s no different for the Israelites. The wall’s done, now it’s time to party!
Nehemiah 5
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- Written by: John Altmann
The Leader & Justice audio (5MB)
If the world were a village… [youtube video]
In the OT God has given us an object lesson. He teaches by example rather than purely by words. He has gone to great trouble to set up a demonstration of his values in the life of one nation, Israel, that he created out of nothing. He made a people for himself and he shaped and moulded their life together by giving them a set of laws to obey. And those laws create an example of his intentions for the whole of humankind in all times and places. So what we have to do as we read the OT is look at the concrete example of Israel to understand God's intentions and then reapply those intentions to our time and place.
I think the reason God has done it like this is that he knows that we learn best from a real life example. Think about your children: do they learn best to do as you say or to do what you actually do? We learn to imitate what we see in other people, don't we?
